The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (story), Tobe Hooper (story)

Stars:

Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marilyn Burns	...	Sally Hardesty
Allen Danziger	...	Jerry
Paul A. Partain	...	Franklin Hardesty
William Vail	...	Kirk
Teri McMinn	...	Pam (as Teri Mcminn)
Edwin Neal	...	Hitchhiker
Jim Siedow	...	Old Man
Gunnar Hansen	...	Leatherface
John Dugan	...	Grandfather
Robert Courtin	...	Window Washer
William Creamer	...	Bearded Man
John Henry Faulk	...	Storyteller
Jerry Green	...	Cowboy
Ed Guinn	...	Cattle Truck Driver
Joe Bill Hogan	...	Drunk

Storyline

En route to visit their grandfather's grave (which has apparently been ritualistically desecrated), five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up (and quickly drop) a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home... where they're plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who more than make up in power tools what they lack in social skills...

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Plot Keywords:

grandfather | cannibal | leatherface | hitchhiker | chainsaw | 

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Taglines:

Who will survive and what will be left of them?

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Headcheese

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$83,532 (estimated)

Gross:

$30,859,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vortex

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 75 min (new longer Version) 88 min (Unrated Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The human skeleton in the house at the end of the movie was a real human skeleton. They used a real one because a human skeleton from India is far cheaper then a fake plastic skeleton.

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Goofs

When they get to the gas station early in the film, it constantly changes from overcast skies to the sun brightly shining with each different camera angle.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to ...

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Connections

Referenced in Resident Evil 5 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"GLAD HAND"
Timberline Rose
(Recorded at Hill on the Moon, Austin, TX., Engineer: Jim Inmon)

User Reviews

Pure, uncompromised horror! A modern classic which still confronts, disturbs and terrifies audiences worldwide.

Tobe Hopper's 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is a landmark low budget horror movie which must be considered a modern classic. Hooper's subsequent career has ben extremely uneven, and frequently disappointing, but even if he never made another movie he would still be a legendary figure. As would Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his twisted family played by Edwin Neal and Jim Siedow, and immortal scream queen Marilyn Burns. These actors never have to set in front of a camera again, they'll never be forgotten by horror buffs worldwide! In this day and age of cynically conceived and marketed MTV-friendly teen slashers it's a revelation to see old school horror classics like this, Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead' and Craven's 'Last House On The Left'. Uncompromising movies, pure horror that makes no attempt to water themselves down and court a mainstream audience. This movie was one of the most controversial of the 1970s, censored or banned here in Australia, and in Britain, and despite the hundreds of horror movies released since, it is still powerful and fresh. There is an undercurrent of bizarre black humour underneath the film, a lot subtler than the sequel and other more obvious "horror comedies". The terror isn't compromised, the uneasy giggles make the extreme images even more difficult to dismiss. The cast, all unknowns at the time, and from what we know know paid diddley squat, are all pretty good, especially Marilyn Burns (who Hooper used in his underrated 'Eaten Alive' and who also appeared in the Charles Manson TV biopic 'Helter Skelter'), and whiny paraplegic Paul A. Partain (who went on to bit parts in 70s Drive-In faves 'Race With The Devil' and 'Rolling Thunder' and very little else). One would have thought both would have went on to bigger things watching their performances in this movie but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Gunnar Hansen is absolutely extraordinary as Leatherface. An amazing performance with his features obscured and no real dialogue to speak of. I don't think it's an exaggeration to compare it to Boris Karloff in the original 'Frankenstein'. Leatherface is a horror icon, and 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is a landmark movie that remains essential viewing for every horror buff. It's a sensational movie that still has the power to confront, disturb and terrify audiences worldwide!